


this is us, you know it on the inside

by punkpixieprince



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Canonical Amnesia, Found Family, Gen, Gerudo Outfit, Immediately Post-Canon, Lost Memories, Mild Angst, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Link, Post-Canon, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Zelda has a crush on Urbosa (mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-02 01:45:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19189393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkpixieprince/pseuds/punkpixieprince
Summary: Link holds up a hand and swings his pack off his back, rifling through it. He pulls out the second set of Gerudo vai clothing he'd bought at Vilia's insistence. Zelda laughs again."This brings back memories…" she says, before paling at her choice of words.





	this is us, you know it on the inside

**Author's Note:**

> sometimes you just have Feelings about link and zelda and then you see [amazing art](https://twitter.com/Cheriiart/status/1127659445062778880?s=19) and [a new game](https://youtu.be/3fr1Z07AV00) gets announced and you write a ficlet. who's to say!
> 
> title from [aquilo's "human"](https://youtu.be/921_CASD4fU). why be subtle when you can be very unsubtle?

Zelda stares up at the castle before them. She hasn't said much, which worries Link. The intricacies of her existence over the last 100 years are still largely a mystery to him, and he has no idea what she needs in this moment. Food? A hug? Reassurance?

"I wonder if any of my clothing survived. This dress is _filthy_. And we're not much better."

...Or a change of clothes. 

"And my hair is a mess. I'd completely forgotten about that, isn't that strange? It's wonderful to be back in my body again, but I feel horrible. And disgusting. And oddly small."

He tentatively touches her shoulder.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm rambling. I think I might be in shock, a little." He gives her what he hopes is a reassuring smile, and gestures towards the moat. She laughs.

"If my father could see me bathing in the _moat_ …" She grins. "I'll do it. But, well, I don't exactly have anything to change into."

Link holds up a hand and swings his pack off his back, rifling through it. He pulls out the second set of Gerudo vai clothing he'd bought at Vilia's insistence. Zelda laughs again. 

"This brings back memories…" she says, before paling at her choice of words. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

He waves a hand. His memories come and go, and he often has no idea he does (or doesn't) remember something until someone mentions it. It's awkward, and occasionally frustrating, but he doesn't want her to feel like she needs to tiptoe around him again. What he _does_ remember is a Zelda who spent a long time hiding parts of herself, and resenting them both in turn for it. He'd rather they didn't repeat that.

"Thank you," she says quietly. He nods, and turns away, falling into parade rest as he eyes the castle. He tried to clear it out as much as possible on his way to fight Calamity Ganon, but there might still be some stragglers left behind. Perhaps not as powerful without their master around, but Link isn't about to let down his guard. He's already failed her once.

"Still trying to protect me, I see," Zelda says, behind him.

He shrugs. He hears her sigh.

"We'll talk about this later." He hears her rustling as she moves away, and then a quiet splash in the moat. 

A pause. "I don't suppose you have soap, in that bag of yours?"

Link shakes his head. 

She sighs again. "Yes, it was usually me who remembered to bring such essentials. For a person who loves jewelry and puts such effort into their attire, you have always been so odd about baths."

Link hums noncommittally. Zelda laughs. She's laughed more in the last ten minutes than he can recall from his patchy memories.

"You know, I was worried I'd forgotten how to understand you. It's been so long since I've seen you, and using the Goddess' power to speak to you inside your head… well. I suppose I was worried I wouldn't know how to be Hylian again."

Link grunts. He understands completely. 

There's a brief silence, and more splashing, before he hears her sigh and the tell-tale sounds of her getting out of the water. The rustle of clothing, and then she's walking over to him.

"Your turn," she says, and he turns around. 

Her eyes are crinkling in a smile that's hidden under the Gerudo veil, and—

And— 

"How do— 

_—I look?"_

_"Simply gorgeous, princess," Urbosa said, holding out her hands. Zelda blushed, but took them, stammering a reply. Link did his best not to laugh; neither of them would appreciate it, but Zelda's crush on Urbosa was always an amusing thing to watch._

_He wasn't successful in avoiding their notice. Urbosa raised an eyebrow at him._

_"Of course, we should all dress up for the festival," she said._

_Uh-oh. He shook his head._

_"Now, now, Champion," Urbosa said, grinning, "Do you have a_ problem _with our outfits?"_

_They were wearing near-sheer sleeveless qamis, with a cape around their shoulders for either modesty, fashion, or a bit of both. Urbosa's was green, with the gold embellishments of her people, and Zelda's was Champion-blue, with matching gold embellishments, though hers had subtle triforces embroidered within. They were incredibly beautiful, and they_ looked _incredibly beautiful, but…_

_"You don't have to if you don't want," Zelda said, stepping between them. "It's just, when Urbosa mentioned getting me an outfit for the festival, I asked, well, if she could get another. Just in case."_

_Link looked at her. Zelda had started to develop the uncanny habit of reading into his silences and correctly guessing his thoughts, but he has no idea how she'd guessed_ this _one._

_"You always look at the jewelry stand in the market square," Zelda said. "And I heard Father telling you that earrings are a danger on the battlefield, but still you wear them."_

_Link snorted. His instructors, including his own father, were always making pointed remarks on his earrings and hair, and the possible grappling opportunities for enemies. As if he'd let them get close enough to try._

_"I made it with your proportions in mind," Urbosa said, holding out a folded piece of fabric the same color as Zelda's. "If you're worried about the fit."_

_He slowly took it and held it up. Other than also being a dress—a_ dress _—and blue, that was where the design similarity between them ended. It was more plain, with silver embroidery, and had the champion symbol instead of the triforce. The fabric was just as sheer as theirs, however._

_"I thought you might appreciate silver instead of gold," Urbosa said. "If the rumor's I've heard are true." Link glanced at Zelda, but for once she didn't comment on Link's relationship with Mipha._

_Slowly, he nodded._

_"Well, go on then," Urbosa said, shooing him behind the changing curtain Zelda had just emerged from. He changed quickly, feeling awkward even with a curtain in the way, and carefully pulled the qamis over his head._

_Hoping it wasn't backwards or inside out or some other unforgivable fashion sin, he shuffled back into the room._

_"Well, look at that," Urbosa said. "You wear it well. It…" Her gaze turns speculative. "Suits you." Link blushed, satisfied and more than a little relieved._

_Urbosa glanced between him and Zelda, and chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd mistake you for siblings. Perhaps even sisters." The words struck Link harder than he expected, and made him feel… oddly giddy._ Sisters _._

_"Oh, honestly," Zelda said, turning pink again. "Not all Hylians look the same, Urbosa."_

_Urbosa laughed._

"—ink! Link!" Zelda is clutching his arms, staring worriedly into his eyes. Link shakes his head.

"Are you alright? Are you tired? Perhaps we should rest, we only just defeated Calamity Ganon—"

"Gorgeous," Link says quietly.

"What?"

Link swallowed. "You… you asked—"

"Oh. _Oh_." She steps back. "You… remembered."

Link nodded. The Gerudo outfit is completely different, the only similarity the gold threaded through the cuffs and belt, but perhaps the presentation, or the words, or the presence of Zelda herself, had brought it back. The familiar protective fondness his past-self had felt for Zelda lingered in the space between them, and it's at moments like these he remembers the magnitude of what he lost, beyond the obvious. He respects Zelda, of course, and cares about her, but his past-self had loved her.

_Sisters._

"Well," Zelda smiles, and it only looks a little forced. "I did say it brings back memories."

Link, hesitantly, smiles back.

Maybe one day they can get back to that place. They have all the time in the world, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> i have a [twitter](https://twitter.com/punkpixieprince) and a [tumblr](http://punkpixieprince.tumblr.com).


End file.
